I’m a big fan of tamales, my favorite being the green chili chicken variety, and I’m also a really big fan of mac and cheese (don’t even get me started on that front). So this Tamale Mac and Cheese is the best of both worlds. Two of my favorite dishes colliding into one mega casserole because that’s what this blog is all about. Taking two recipes and mashing them together in unexpected ways. I wanted to create a new and exciting mac and cheese recipe for the site, and so I asked Julian what he thought I should make. So he out of the blue without missing a blue was like, “a tamale mac and cheese would be awesome!” Then we both sort of brainstormed this green chili chicken tamale mac and cheese. This dish features a bottom layer of masa, then a layer of green chili chicken sauce and then of course topped with a mountain of homemade mac and cheese, and a layer of crispy bread crumbs and more cheese. Then it’s baked until bubbly and I kid you not, it tastes JUST LIKE a green chili chicken tamale. It’s crazy and cozy and comforting and calling out your name. It might by slightly over the top but sometimes you deserve to treat yourself with a melty cheesy pasta-filled dish, especially during this time of year. It’s great for potlucks or family gatherings. So keep it up your sleeve until you’re ready to have your life changed or when you’re in need of an out-of-this-world recipe that will impress everyone.

It’s Friday and so that means we have several reasons to celebrate. We can be happy that the work week is finally coming to an end, for many of us, and we can get excited that it’s time for another installment of my favorite segment on the blog, Cheers to the Weekend. Over the course of this segment I’ve brought you breakfast recipes, appetizers, desserts, and of course cocktails. All perfect for entertaining or just living life on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This time around though I’m bringing you something from my childhood. A dish you can make for your family on a Saturday or Sunday evening. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned on here that my grandparents were from Nicaragua. I didn’t grow up speaking Spanish much or knowing a lot about Nicaragua in general, or my grandparents for that matter, as they passed away before any of my sisters and I were born, but I did grew up eating a few Nicaraguan dishes here and there that my mom would make for us. Although she was born here, she learned a lot of those dishes from her mother and so she made them for us when we were growing up. One of those dishes was this salpicon I’m about to tell you all about. Salpicon is probably a word you don’t hear often, if ever, but it’s a dish you should most definitely become familiar with because it’s super easy to make and incredibly delicious. If you have a food processor, and half an hour to spare, you can make this dish with no effort at all.

It’s basically finely chopped steak mixed with finely chopped bell peppers (red or green, although we eat it exclusively with green bell peppers in my family), onion, lime juice, salt and pepper. That’s it. It’s really not at all fancy and rather inexpensive to make, but it’s out of this world. My family eats it cold from the fridge— almost like a ceviche with the lime juice and salt, although the beef is fully cooked here—served with steamed white rice on the side or on top of it. As a kid, and to this day actually, whenever I eat it, I always end up mixing the salpicon and rice together to form one mixture. Something about that hot rice and cold beef mixed together that makes it a delicious combo. I can go on and on about it, but I still l won’t do it justice. You just have to try it for yourself, so you can understand what I’m talking about. Let’s Cheers to the Weekend with your new favorite dish! A little bit of my childhood straight to your own kitchen!

Chicken Pot Pie meets Tater Tot Hotdish, it’s a story we’re all familiar with and if we’re not, it’s about time we get to know this dish and cozy up next to it. Don’t you think? It’s officially chicken pot pie season and even though there are a million incarnations of it out there already….including multiple on this site (Potato Chicken Pot Pie anyone?), the world has just gotten a much needed new take on this classic dish. I recently grabbed myself a copy of Molly Yeh‘s new cookbook Molly on the Range, and let me tell you, it’s filled with great recipes that are easy to make. Some classic dishes with new twists and new dishes we’ve probably never heard of but should most definitely be trying because they’re delicious. This Chicken Pot Tot Hotdish is one of many recipes I was dying to try, including but not limited to, Funfetti Cake, Hummus with Meat All Over It, Happy Pig Pizza Pockets, and Spinach and Feta Rugelach. I figured I’d dive right into that tater tot hotdish first because I basically lived off tater tots as a kid and this brought me all the way back to those days when I crossed my fingers and prayed that tater tots would be on the menu at school every single day. Especially because Molly suggests to eat this Chicken Pot Tot Hotdish with ketchup on the side and nothing screams childhood more than eating tater tots with ketchup, or eating anything with ketchup for that matter.

So whether you’re looking for a quick and easy weeknight dinner that the entire family will love, or you’re just looking for an interesting dish that will be a hit at a party or potluck, this recipe (along with the book) is for you. If you’re like me and have always been wondering how else you can incorporate more tater tots into your daily life, short of just warming up a bag in the oven and eating them all yourself with no regrets, which isn’t a bad idea let me say, at least now we have a valid excuse to stop by the frozen food aisle of the grocery store and grab two bags of frozen tots. One bag for the topping of this dish and one bag for those moments when you need a quick snack. Which for me is always.

Just in case you were dying to know, the answer is yes. Yes we still a few more days to celebrate Oktoberfest. The good news is that it isn’t officially over until October 4th so there’s still time. Grab your friends and family and throw yourselves a good old fashioned Oktoberfest party. Even better news is that I have the ultimate Oktoberfest recipe for you to try. It’ll instantly become your new favorite fall time dish, without having to rely on the recipes you always make year after year. The bad news is that I can almost guarantee once you try this pot pie you’ll no longer what to eat regular pot pie ever again. Someone will serve you chicken pot pie with a boring crust and you’ll lose it. You’ll flip a table over and start throwing dishes on the floor, and have a good old fashioned tantrum. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. P.S. I’m just going to keep putting “good old fashioned” in front of everything to make it sound more appealing. Let me know if it’s working.

A little fun fact about me is that I took German in high school for a couple years. Don’t ask me anything about it because I hardly remember a thing. In all honesty I only studied it because my sister had taken German for three years at the same school and I wanted to be just like her. My sister is the smartest person I know, and the teacher really liked her a lot because of this, so I figured I’d get a free ride by extension. I got by and enjoyed it, but not enough to remember what I learned. It’s a bummer now that I think about it. It’s like why didn’t I stick with the cello or stick with German? I could’ve been a cello master who speaks fluent German, but no that didn’t happen. All I know now is that I still get excited for Oktoberfest each year, and not celebrating it would be criminal.

Let’s talk about this Bratwurst, Beer & Cheddar Pretzel Pot Pie for a quick second. It’s a mouthful to say, but think about how difficult it is for me. I’m the one that actually has to keep typing it out. I didn’t know what else to call this pot pie. Deciding on the title was a bit hard. I wanted to make sure you fully understood how awesome the recipe is right off the bat. I played around with a few titles like, Good Old Fashioned Oktoberfest Pot Pie, but that didn’t really say much about it. Then I thought German Pot Pie, but nah, this isn’t something that is made in Germany and I didn’t want it to be misleading. Then I was like, I’ll list some of the ingredients in the title like Bratwurst, Beer and Cheddar Pot Pie. I was happy with that for a bit, but midway through writing out the post it dawned on me that I really should highlight the pretzel part of this dish too because the pretzel is a crucial component of it. It’s the first thing you’ll notice when you look at the images. Pretzel NEEDS to be in the title. Bratwurst, Pretzel, Cheddar and Beer Pot Pie didn’t have an easy fluidity to it. It didn’t flow naturally off my tongue, so I started jumbling the worlds around until I found the right combination but even then I’m not even sure if it’s the right decision because it’s the longest recipe title ever known to mankind (exaggerating). Bratwurst, Beer & Cheddar Pretzel Pot Pie was the winner. It seemed right. It seemed fair. At the end of the day, the one thing I realized was that it doesn’t matter what in the world I decided to call it, people are still going to love it either way. As long as it tastes good, that’s all that matters.

I will always reserve a special place in my heart for these Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches. Partly because breaded and fried chicken thighs are involved, I’ve learned never to question fried chicken, but also because it was the first thing Julian ever cooked for me, on our third date. This was the only dish he knew how to cook at the time, which I believe he actually called his mom right before and asked her how to make it. You gotta give the man points for trying. And even though it looked like a tornado hit the kitchen, and I was fairly certain the night would end with us at the emergency room waiting for Julian to get stitches (thankfully it didn’t), it’s still one of my all time favorite sandwiches I’ve ever eaten. No joke. And that’s saying something because I love me a good sandwich every now and then, and as we all know there are so many options to choose from, so it’s kind of hard to pick a favorite. But how can you pass up breaded chicken topped with marinara and cheese and then sandwiched together between two pieces of crusty garlic-rubbed bread?! You can’t, you just can’t, and even if you did, I’d have serious doubts about our friendship. Then again, I would be able to eat your sandwich…so maybe I should rethink this.

To this day, whenever it’s Julian’s turn to cook dinner, I’ll either get these sandwiches or a grilled steak with brussels sprouts and potatoes. I’m not complaining though because sometimes it’s too much of a hassle for me to fire up the grill, stand in front of hot burning charcoal all night with smoke blowing in my face. Thankfully the man can grill like no one’s business, and actually enjoys doing it. He has since learned how to cook a few more dishes, through the years, like tacos and homemade tortilla chips with guacamole or grilled salmon with rice and roasted asparagus. They’ve been added to the rotation, but honestly even if this sandwich continued to be the only thing he ever cooked for me, I’d be super happy because it’s a masterpiece of a dish. But it’s best not to tell Julian this. We don’t want it getting to his head.

Instead of keeping this recipe all to myself, though, like some selfish animal, I’ve decided I needed to spread the word. I told myself, “Self, everyone needs to try this sandwich. You’d be doing the world a disservice if you didn’t share it.” That happened, but also I figured we could all use a few more quick and easy recipes that can be whipped up in no time. Especially during those week days when we’re all exhausted from work and just want to get home as quickly as possible, make dinner and catch up on those shows we’ve let pile up. Let’s get with the program and make these happen as soon as possible.

I’ve always wanted to make a paella for the site. It’s something I’ve had in the back of my mind for a while now. I’m a sucker for rice, in any shape or form. In any recipe, really. My motto is, the more rice the better. Serve it to me every single day for the rest of my life and I’ll be happy as a clam (pun intended). I began brainstorming recipe ideas this past week and for some reason paella kept popping up in my head. Perhaps it was a sign pointing me to make paella, because the time had come for me to finally make this recipe happen. It could’ve been a sign, but really if I’m being honest, it was my stomach doing all of the thinking because I really just wanted an excuse to eat paella this week. Go figure. Anyhow, there I was brainstorming when it hits me, “Jonathan! You should make a paella but create it with a twist because there are a million paella recipes already out there!” Just like that, that’s how it happened. Word for word, and I know what you’re thinking, yes I do talk to myself in first person. It’s what I do.

Aside from talking to myself, I’d also like to point out the fact that it’s currently the third of November. The THIRD of NOVEMBER people!!! Where did the end of October go? This whole time change thing over the weekend has got me all sorts of confused. Sure it’s just one hour of a difference, but still, my mind is taking a bit longer to adjust. I don’t know what is what anymore. The only thing I am sure of is the fact that it’s finally getting chilly here in Los Angeles and all that means is that I get to eat more comfort foods that warm me up inside. Pasta is my favorite comfort food of all. Especially hot pasta baked with lots of cheese. Yes, I’m referring to mac and cheese. Why didn’t you just say that Jonathan?!!? What can I say, I like to be cryptic sometimes.

Okay so this paella pasta salad isn’t served hot and yes I know there’s no cheese involved, so what’s so comforting about it? It’s no mac and cheese, that’s for sure. Well, it is a pasta dish loaded with all of the meats and all of the seafoods. What’s not comforting about that?!?! You tell me! What isn’t comforting about that, huh? Huh? Well? What have you got to say for yourself? This recipe is comforting because it’s pasta mixed with sausage, ham, chicken, shrimp, mussels and clams! It’s so filling that it should be illegal, but not really because I’d really like to eat this until the end of time, and I think you should too.